As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been a fan of “Star Trek: the Next Generation” since childhood. The new movie, “Star Trek,” due out Friday, is bringing out my inner-geek.

My all-time favorite character from the Star Trek franchise is Data, played brilliantly by Brent Spiner. When I was a child, Data intrigued me simply because he was a robot, but as I grew older, I realized it was his unyielding fascination with human beings that makes the character so enjoyable. In Data’s desire to unravel the mystery of what it is to be human, we, as the human audience, discover a little something about ourselves.

Some of my most beloved episodes involve Data delving into the character of Sherlock Holmes while on the holodeck. Like Data, Holmes is always rational and logical, and Holmes is probably the one human Data ever really figured out.

My second favorite character was Q. John de Lancie played this puzzling, God-like alien, who liked to pop on board the Enterprise whenever he felt like mucking around. He especially liked to goad the usually unflappable Captain Picard. Episodes featuring Q provided some of the most entertaining shows in the series.

My father was a fan of the original “Star Trek” series, and introduced my brother and me to Captain Kirk and Spock when we were still wee children. But it wasn’t the original series that held my unswerving attention. As an adolescent I was a huge fan of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” I’ve seen every episode at least twice and in an admission of my inner-geek, I am collecting each season on DVD.

The new movie, simply entitled “Star Trek,” will open in two days, and my excitement is mixed with a bit of apprehension. The previews seem to target a teen audience, but previews can be misleading. The casting is an odd mixture; you will recognize many of the faces, but not be able to put names to all of them.

Chris Pine has been cast as a young Captain Kirk. Unfortunately, for those who sat painfully through “Bottle Shock,” it is obvious Pine won’t be winning an Oscar anytime soon – the moment he opens his mouth the blond haired, blue eyed hunk exemplifies the California surfer dude stereotype. Perhaps this won’t matter, as William Shatner wasn’t known for his elegant prose or excellent acting abilities.

There were several good picks by the studio. Simon Pegg, a very funny British actor, plays Scotty. “Heroes” bad boy Zachary Quinto (“Heroes” Sylar) looks like he will play a convincing young Spock. Eric Bana, excellent Australian actor (and handsome), has also been cast in the new film. Winona Ryder snagged herself a role in the film, a competent actress before she became better known for thieving undies from Sack’s 5th Avenue. A slew of young stars will appear, along with Lenard Nimoy (I heard rumors of William Shatner’s displeasure at not being asked to appear, but this is unsubstantiated).

J.J. Abrams directed this movie, which is being promoted as an action-packed thrill ride.

Will this “Star Trek” delight or disappoint? We shall see, but I will be in line on Friday, with the rest of the Trekkies – I will be the one not in a Star Fleet uniform.

I must admit, I was a childhood fan of the “X-Men” television cartoon, and I have enjoyed the three previous “X-Men” movies. If you are unaware of the “X-Men,” it was a superhero team comprised of mutants, first appearing in a Marvel comic named… read the rest of this review.

Hollywood came out for the Globes tonight. Many ladies wore pastel dresses resembling bridesmaid attire, and many men were sporting facial hair.

The big news? Kate Winslet probably won’t be winning an Oscar, now that she’s finally walked away with an award – two actually. She won Best Supporting Actress for “The Reader” and Best Actress for “Revolutionary Road,” leaving the door wide open for a most deserving Meryl Streep to win the Oscar.

Winslet was surprised by the second win and had a terrible time getting through all her thank you’s, though having a British accent always makes a person seem proper, even when they are in a state of disarray. She confessed her “13 year” love of co-star Leonardo DiCaprio – thankfully she quickly followed up by adding how much she loves her husband and “Revolutionary Road” director, Sam Mendes.

“Slumdog Millionaire,” one of my favorites, was the surprise big winner, walking away with Best Screenplay, Best Musical Score and Best Picture.

Best Actor went to Mickey Rourke for his performance in “The Wrestler.” A seemingly sober Rourke tripped on the stairs, but then regained his composure enough to deliver a very good acceptance speech, which even included thanking his dogs (something most dog people will appreciate).

Not a surprise, Best Supporting Actor was given posthumously to Health Ledger for his portrayal of the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

Best Actor in a comedy or musical went to Colin Ferrell, who looked dapper in his suit, but was annoyingly fidgety during his speech. Best Actress in a comedy or musical went to relatively unknown British actress, Sally Hawkins for her role in “Happy Go Lucky.”

Television awards do not interest me, so you’ll have to search elsewhere for who won on that front.

With award season just around the corner, movies are hitting theaters fast and furious – and so am I.

Frankly, I couldn’t be happier about it. Finally, there are some great movies being released!

Because of the amount of movies needing to be reviewed, some of my reviews will be a bit on the short side so that I can review two at a time for the newpaper to which I contribute.

The Golden Globes will be held on January 11th. The Golden Globes do not excite me; I’ve always thought of it as Oscar’s slightly less talented little brother. However, I am a fanatic about the Academy Awards. This year’s Oscars will be held on February 22, hosted by Hugh Jackman. When the nominees are announced, usually four weeks prior to the awards, I will make it my mission to see all of the picks for “Best Picture.” And I will work tirelessly to keep my readers apprised of my top picks in all the categories.